Brand-new dishes unveiled at Greendot, Singapore

[Media Invite]

So, if you have been a loyal blog reader, you may remember that I have reviewed Greendot on the blog before. I had been there with a friend and we came back high on all things green. 

Greendot is an asian-fusion vegetarian casual eatery. It was founded in 2011 with the mission to make healthy meat-free meals convenient, accessible and affordable to the masses. By using fresh ingredients and adopting cooking methods that preserve the natural goodness of the ingredients, the restaurant does justice to its healthy eating reputation. Greendot aims to modernize and revolutionize the vegetarian food industry by providing a plant-based, nutritious and convenient alternative to diners when compared to greasy run-of-the-mill fast food.

I recently received an invite to sample the brand-new dishes unveiled by Greendot (available exclusively at the Paya Lebar and VivoCity outlets).

The outlet I visited was the one at Paya Lebar and sits smack in the middle of Paya Lebar Square. The restaurant has an open kitchen concept that overlooks a minimalistic, bright and clean dining area with earthy tones. There are two seating areas, one inside the restaurant and the other located just outside giving diners a full view of the mall.

As with the rest of their menu, the new dishes do not contain any MSG or artificial preservatives. The four main ingredients that take centre stage in these dishes are: lion’s mane mushroom, konnyaku, soya and broccoli. Serving up to three persons, each dish is touted to be colorful, appetizing and wholesome.  

First up, we were served the Osmanthus Jelly Drink. Chilled, sweet and refreshing, this is a drink I enjoyed. 

Next, we were offered some of the regular crowd-pleasers that are served at the restaurant. I heartily dug into the brown rice and the three sides that was served alongside it. My favourites were the Lion Mane Mushroom Rendang and Stir-Fried Spicy Eggplant.

Yummy.

i

Recipe of the month: Vegetarian Lo Mein + Giveaway from Market Fresh Singapore

Boy, oh boy, do I have something good in store for all you folks in Singapore 😎 So, in case you have something important going on and are absent-mindedly scrolling through this post, I suggest you push the other stuff for later and give me your undivided attention (I'm being pushy for a reason, trust me 😛 ). What I'm talking about is a fabulous recipe and a chance to win a voucher to buy the ingredients you need to make the above-mentioned fabulous recipe - a double bonus for all you foodies!

To elaborate, I am pleased to be hosting my very first giveaway. I am using my blog's facebook page as the platform to host the giveaway so if you are residing in Singapore and want to participate, follow the simple rules mentioned in the top-most post HERE and stand a chance to win.

This post is a collaboration with MarketFresh.Sg as part of their "Modern Mummies in the Kitchen" campaign. For the uninitiated, Market Fresh is an online wet market with next-day delivery option throughout Singapore. They are a new generation of wet market stall owners, bringing to you Singapore’s fresh & best value wet market groceries online for your convenience and hassle-free shopping.

In order to bring you the freshest ingredients, Market Fresh operates just like a wet market. In three easy steps you can enjoy your choice of fresh produce hand-picked especially for you each morning. First you order and customize from sections including fruits, vegetables, butcher, fishmonger, yong tau foo and dry provisions; second, you pick your delivery time from 4 convenient time slots and third, you receive groceries from express couriers who will deliver your order within hours. They operate before daybreak and take their last orders before noon in-keeping with how a wet market functions. This is to ensure your order gets to you on the same day, fresh as can be 😊

I love the wet markets in Singapore. Every Saturday morning, it is a ritual for me to rise early just so I can hand-pick fresh produce from the wet market located opposite my residence and get home before my kids start to stir. Market Fresh were kind enough to give me the luxury of an extra hour of sleep by doing my job for me. I was given the choice to order groceries of my choosing from the online website and I was glad to note that I found everything that I usually buy from the nearby wet market and at affordable prices too.

Placing the order was a breeze and this is what I received (and is similar to what my typical weekly market haul looks like). All the groceries were fresh and were delivered within the time slot I had chosen. There was an assortment of fruits, greens, vegetables, freshly grated coconut, fresh egg noodles and coconut milk. I had listed baby carrots in my order but I received a message earlier in the day saying they were unavailable at the market that day and hence I gave instructions to substitute it with something else. The order was correct except for a zucchini which had been mixed up with a bag of Japanese cucumbers. I'm sure Market Fresh would have set it right it for me if I had informed them but I had ordered zucchini purely on a whim so I settled for the crunchy cucumbers (and used them later in the week alongside a bowl full of homemade hummus 😊 ).

Some information about Market Fresh that you should know is,

• Delivery is fixed at a flat rate of $6. Orders above $30 enjoy free delivery
• Market Fresh opens only when the wet market opens therefore they do not operate on Mondays
• Since the wet market closes at around 1pm, all late afternoon orders are stored under refrigeration until ready for delivery
• All orders will delivered within a time limit of 3 hours and the order will be packed with sufficient ice packs to keep your groceries cool and fresh

Okay so getting straight to the recipe, I have a local favourite for you - only a vegetarian version. Lo Mein is a Chinese dish made with stir-fried noodles. It often contains some type of meat or seafood, usually beef, chicken, pork, shrimp or wontons but it can also be eaten with just vegetables.

The Vegetarian Lo Mein that I have for you today is salty, savoury, bursting with that delightful 'umami' flavour and showcasing some bright and crisp veggies such as red cabbage, red bell peppers, snow peas and carrots. It is easy to make, delicious and hearty at the same time. What's more is that it is healthier and much better than take-out you guys.

Good Lo Mein needs a combination of dark and light soy sauce, sesame oil and brown sugar. I advise that if you do not use dark soy sauce in this recipe, you will not achieve the desired flavour so please do not skip it. If you have a particular brand of good quality dark and light soy sauce that you love, go ahead and use it. You will be thankful you did.

Coming to the noodles, Chinese egg noodles i.e. wheat flour noodles with egg added is what is typically used for Lo Mein. Fresh egg noodles work best for Lo Mein compared to dry and I was so happy that I could buy 1kg of fresh noodles from Market Fresh. It not only saved cooking time but ended up tasting great in the finished product. If you were wondering why they look short, I personally do not like tugging on kilometer long noodles so I cut them up a bit (is that blasphemous in the noodle world? 😝). I understand if you cannot get your hands on fresh noodles. You could use dried Chinese egg noodles or ramen or, worst case scenario, spaghetti or linguine. Just cook the noodles according to the package instructions and proceed as normal with the recipe instructions.

You can use this recipe as a clean-out-your-fridge strategy as it can be made with a variety of vegetables (bell peppers, carrots, zucchini, baby corn, spinach, bok choy, kai lan, chives, mushrooms, snap peas, onions, cabbage, broccoli) and almost any protein you can get your hands on.

Oh, and before I go on to the recipe, did I mention one more bit of good news? For exclusively my readers, Market Fresh is offering a first-time 10% discount. The promo code is MEGHA10

So guys please try this recipe and let me know how it turns out. I'd love to get feedback. Also, be a dear and take part in the giveaway. It would make me even happier!

Happy shopping and happy cooking 😊